Chapter Fifty-Five: Do You Believe It Too, Wang Lie?

Through the broadcaster's slow-motion replay, everyone could finally see just how unfortunate Tyne's missed scoring opportunity truly was.

"Wang Lie's forward run was extremely clever and decisive. Pay close attention here... he applied a deceleration."

Zhao Chuanfeng used the slow-motion replay to break it down for the Chinese television audience.

He was referring to the moment when Libert stepped up to challenge Wang Lie. Instead of trying to accelerate past Libert, Wang Lie slowed his pace down.

"This single moment is the crucial part. If Wang Lie had directly accelerated toward the goal, he would have dragged Libert right along with him toward the net, leaving himself with no open space in the penalty area... But by slowing down just for a second, once Van Ginkel delivered the pass, Libert's attention was naturally drawn toward the ball.

"The moment Libert's attention shifted, Wang Lie suddenly accelerated forward, and by that time Libert simply couldn't react in time... He could only watch helplessly as Wang Lie surged in front of him and established position.

"If Dean had been able to slide the pass over right then, directing it to the back post, I can guarantee you that Wang Lie would have scored practically a hundred percent of the time!"

Luo Jin chimed in with a teasing tone, "At that moment, Dean probably only had the top corner of the goal in his eyes, and everything else simply ceased to exist in his field of vision."

Then, adopting a serious tone, he explained, "When a person is in an extremely focused state, their visual field does indeed narrow... Actually, we can't really say Dean's choice was wrong. After all, he was facing the goalkeeper one-on-one, and taking the shot was a valid option."

Zhao Chuanfeng said with an expression of mingled exasperation and disappointment, "The crucial point is that you have to actually score!"

Luo Jin laughed. "True, as long as you score. Once the ball goes in, nobody brings up the fact that Wang Lie was lurking at the back post."

"Precisely. The point is he didn't score... Sigh!"

A lingering sense of regret and frustration permeated Zhao Chuanfeng's tone.

If that ball had been passed to Wang Lie, not only would Tyne have equalized the score, but Wang Lie would have also secured a brace—killing two birds with one stone!

※※※

Contrasting somewhat with the mindset of the Chinese commentators, although they felt it was a pity to see Dean shoot the ball into the side netting rather than scoring, neither English commentator Connor Cawley nor pundit Joe Westley believed there was any major issue with Dean choosing not to pass to Wang Lie.

"As a forward, you are supposed to shoot from that position! If it had been Wang receiving the ball there, I'm certain he would have shot without the slightest hesitation!" Westley remarked.

Cawley chimed in, "Dean's choice was fine. While passing to Wang might have been slightly better, there was also the possibility of undercooking the pass, or having Wang's shot blocked under Libert's pressure...

"Therefore, many situations in a football match don't actually have a single standard answer. Dean felt he could score from there, so he took the shot. The key is not to hesitate. If you intend to shoot, fail to pull the trigger immediately, and then try to cross only to find the angle has closed and the open space in the box is gone—that is when criticism is warranted..."

On the sidelines in the Tyne technical area, after McNeil and Vallo expressed their regret over Dean squandering the opportunity, they refrained from debating whether Dean ought to have passed the ball to Wang Lie, considering that was now water under the bridge.

As team coaches, they needed to look forward during a match and could not constantly dwell on an unalterable past.

Whether Dean should have passed to Wang Lie was a topic that could easily wait until after the final whistle during the tactical review.

Right now, what they drew from that attacking sequence was a positive signal.

"Once Wang dropped deeper, our offense instantly carried more threat," Vallo said excitedly.

McNiel nodded. "When I initially wanted to sign Wang, I also hoped he could link up both flanks. This attack was precisely the kind of picture I wanted to see. However, Wang's late run from deep was slightly faster than I had anticipated; I thought that move would turn into a positional buildup. Instead, it nearly materialized as a rapid counterattack."

Vallo praised, "This is the veteran experience and tactical awareness coming into play. Look at him during the rest of the match, especially defensively—he hardly exerted himself running, strolling around almost casually. He was conserving his energy, saving it for the critical moments! If we keep playing like this, what Wang claimed might actually come true!"

McNiel turned his head to cast a surprised glance at his assistant. "Oh? So you haven't actually believed in him this whole time?"

Looking somewhat awkward, Vallo explained, "That's rational skepticism! I'm not like you, acting as Wang's devoted fanboy; I'm being logical. Naturally, I won't completely believe it until he actually pulls it off!"

Facing his stubborn colleague, McNeil smiled silently without offering a rebuttal.

※※※

Although that attack did not yield a goal, it thoroughly frightened Skuggar's manager, Giuseppe Gill—his heart had nearly leaped out of his chest when Dean received the ball behind the defensive line.

He had spotted Wang Lie charging forward as well, and he was genuinely terrified that Dean would sweep the ball across the face of goal.

Fortunately, Dean chose to go it alone.

Those who favored Dean, those who opposed Wang Lie, or the ostensible neutrals could certainly argue that there was nothing wrong with Dean's decision.

Yet none of them possessed more justification to say so than Gill.

Since Dean had essentially saved his skin, he naturally had to back Dean and hope he kept doing the exact same thing!

Keep going, Sonny Dean, you'd better not pass the ball to Wang for the rest of this match!

With that, he walked to the touchline and gestured for his players to intensify their pressing in midfield, thereby increasing the pressure on Tyne.

Especially against Wang Lie.

The previous scoring chance arose precisely because Radu was left defending Wang Lie entirely by himself, allowing Wang Lie to turn, shake off his marker, and deliver a brilliant pass to spark the attack.

Had there been two players double-teaming Wang Lie the moment Götz passed the ball to him, he would not have shaken them off so easily, and the subsequent danger would have never materialized.

※※※

Following Gill's instructions, the Skuggar players indeed stepped up their defensive coverage on Wang Lie.

Anyone could see that Wang Lie, roaming between the midfield and the attacking line, was the creative heartbeat of Tyne's offense.

Consequently, in the ensuing passages of play, whenever Skuggar was on the attack, Wang Lie became virtually invisible, restricted to holding his position to help maintain the structural integrity of the defensive block.

Yet the moment Tyne sought to launch an attack, Wang Lie instantly transformed into the focal point of the television broadcast.

He likewise became the focal point for the players on the pitch.

Tyne's players sought to deliver the ball to him, while Skuggar's players swarmed to surround him.

Skuggar pressed so fiercely that for a stretch of time, Wang Lie found it nearly impossible to play a progressive forward pass, forced instead to recycle possession backward or sideways.

He even attempted to dribble past opponents on his own, but trapped in the double or triple-teams of Skuggar players, it proved an almost impossible task.

He even turned the ball over once in his own half, nearly allowing Skuggar to launch an immediate counter; if he hadn't grabbed the opponent's jersey to deliberately concede a foul, the consequences could have been severe.

Under such circumstances, his teammates naturally could no longer afford to pump every ball in his direction.

※※※

Skuggar attacked down the right flank, with right midfielder Simon Lofen hugging the touchline to provide support, while right-back Patrick McGowan carried the ball against Vítini's defense.

McGowan poked the football toward Lofen stationed on the touchline.

Waiting directly in front of Lofen, however, was another Tyne defender—left-back Charlie Cohen.

Unable to drive forward directly with the ball, Lofen opted to pass it inside to Bouissier, who had drifted inward from central midfield to offer support.

Yet shadowing Bouissier step-for-step was Tyne's midfielder Joshua Parker.

Having released his pass, Lofen attempted a darting forward run to execute a one-two wall pass with Bouissier.

As a result, Charlie Cohen stuck to him like a shadow.

Bouissier had no choice but to abandon the idea of returning the pass; instead, he killed the ball behind him while executing a sharp turn.

Concurrently, Skuggar's right-back McGowan engaged in a cross-over run, cutting into the center to fill the space Bouissier had vacated.

Bouissier drifted out toward the flank.

Vítini, who had previously been marking McGowan on the wing, stepped directly in front of Bouissier to block any attempt at a driving run or skill move, while Joshua Parker, who had been tracking Bouissier, retreated into the central corridor to pick up McGowan.

Throughout his turn and adjustment, Bouissier kept scanning the field ahead to locate Lofen.

He completely neglected to check his blind spot behind him.

Thus, when the tail end of his vision caught Van Ginkel bearing down straight at him from the center, it was already too late...

In a panic, he tried to shield the football, only to lose his balance as Van Ginkel crashed into him from behind, poking the ball away from the Dutch midfielder's feet in the process!

Positioned directly in front of Bouissier, Vítini burst into motion the instant he saw the loose ball, taking a heavy touch forward to accelerate past!

A cheer echoed through the Lizer Park stadium.

"Van Ginkel tackles from behind! Fair challenge! Tyne on the counterattack!"

As Vítini gathered speed with the ball, Wang Lie was still lingering in the center, positioned relatively deep.

Unlike Vítini, he did not immediately accelerate into a sprint.

Instead, he first turned his head to glance over his right shoulder. He spotted Sonny Dean, whose positioning was even deeper than his own—since Skuggar had sustained pressure in the attacking third moments earlier, the entire Tyne team had dropped back into their own half, forcing even Dean to track back and assist defensively.

With the sudden transition, none of them had pushed up, leaving the entire pitch ahead completely devoid of Tyne players.

Wang Lie looked toward Dean, only to find the latter looking right back at him.

Seeing this, Wang Lie flicked his hand down by his side with a subtle wave, signaling Dean to surge forward.

Instantly, Dean burst into a sprint upfield.

Wang Lie followed at a run, though his pace remained noticeably more moderate than Dean's.

Initially, Skuggar's left-back Attallah had been patrolling near Wang Lie and was primed to track him.

However, since Wang Lie hadn't accelerated, while Dean had turned on the jets instead... McGowan weighed his options and decided to slide across to contain Vítini.

As for Wang Lie... they would leave him to the retreating defender Chi Zhen and forward Flavio Rosas.

After charging forward a couple of paces with the ball, Vítini lifted his head to scan the center, noticing that Wang Lie had not sprinted ahead but was instead maintaining a leisurely, trailing pace.

As Vítini looked at Wang Lie, Wang Lie met his gaze.

While communicating with Dean required hand gestures, a single glance was all it took for Wang Lie to convey his next instructions to Vítini.

At that moment, Skuggar center-back Libert and defensive midfielder Radu were closing down rapidly. Being outnumbered two-to-one prompted Vítini to check his stride, seemingly waiting for Wang Lie to jog up and offer support.

Yet Wang Lie's pace remained unhurried, causing Vítini to find himself momentarily trapped in a pocket of pressure.

Using the outside of his right boot, Vítini nudged the ball inward, feinting an inside cut.

By now, Wang Lie had advanced to a position nearly parallel with Vítini.

Vítini's feinted cut and Wang Lie's forward drift instantly alerted Skuggar captain Mason Harper, who was holding the central zone. Harper grew anxious, anticipating that Vítini might slip the ball to Wang Lie. Desperate to deny Wang Lie an easy reception, Harper pressed aggressively forward—despite being six or seven meters away from Wang Lie, he felt the gap was still too wide for him to effectively neutralize the threat.

It was precisely at that instant that Vítini—having only adjusted his body orientation rather than genuinely cutting inside—cocked his right foot back in a passing motion.

There was no time left to wait!

Harper exploded forward!

Concurrently, Vítini whipped his foot through the ball.

Yet instead of feeding Wang Lie in the center, he lofted a curling cross toward the back post, targeting Sonny Dean, who was tearing forward at full speed!

This unexpected turn of events caught Harper completely off guard; he had braced himself to challenge Wang Lie, only to watch the ball sail into the wide-open space behind him at the far end.

He could only slam on the brakes and scramble to spin around.

It was right then that Wang Lie—who had moments before been strolling as leisurely as if on a park walk—suddenly exploded into an all-out sprint!

His running path sliced directly through the vast open space left in Harper's wake!

Harper failed entirely to match Wang Lie's acceleration, getting left behind in the dust after a mere two strides!

From this point on, provided Dean could cleanly control the ball and slide a diagonal pass back into the center, Wang Lie would find himself in a one-on-one duel with goalkeeper Lucero!

Every fan in the stands recognized the magnitude of the moment.

Tyne supporters erupted into anticipatory cheers, while Skuggar fans shrieked in panic.

The commentators grew frantic, shouting excitedly:

"An opportunity for Tyne!"

"Wang Lie surges forward! Brilliant!"

"The counterattack is on!"

Even the coaching staffs on the touchlines wore contrasting expressions: McNeil looked full of expectation, while Gill panicked.

Then, right before everyone's eyes, Dean reached out a foot to trap the ball...

And completely missed it!

The football skimmed right over the top of his boot...

"Look at that, Dean... Oh, for goodness sake!" Luo Jin almost burst out laughing at Dean's comical "phantom trap."

Zhao Chuanfeng was already chuckling. "The way Dean trapped that..."

Because he failed to secure the ball on the first attempt, what should have been a lightning-fast counterattack was abruptly slammed to a dead halt by Dean himself—he had to chase after the loose ball and gather it a second time before finally securing control.

By then, however, Wang Lie could no longer continue his forward run—any further advancement would have placed him in an offside position. Furthermore, because Dean had wasted precious seconds chasing the ball down, he had drifted all the way to the penalty spot; had Dean attempted a diagonal pass then, the ball stood an overwhelming chance of being claimed by goalkeeper Lucero.

Consequently, Wang Lie had no choice but to decelerate, allowing Harper to catch up to him.

Once Dean finally brought the football under control, he realized the prime window for the attack had vanished entirely.

When Attallah rushed in to press him, Dean had no option but to recycle the possession backward.

The rapid counterattack had degenerated into a slow, structured positional attack.

A chorus of jeers cascaded down from the rafters of Lizer Park.

The boos were aimed squarely at Sonny Dean.

The television broadcast conveniently cut the live feed of the match action to project a sharp close-up of Dean's face.

In the tight frame, his mouth hung slightly open as he panted heavily, his gaze tinged with utter bewilderment, as if he himself could not comprehend why, through some bizarre stroke of misfortune, he had failed to control that ball.

In truth, no footballer could guarantee flawless ball control on every single touch during a match, but at a moment this critical, on a delivery of minimal technical difficulty, failing to even make proper contact with the ball fell far below acceptable standards...

He could not offer a single reason or excuse to justify it.

※※※

Gazing at the bewildered close-up of Dean displayed on the stadium's mega-screen, Robbie Dixey unleashed a furious curse. "Damn it! Useless trash! He couldn't even trap that ball! Missing the shot was one thing, but not even knowing how to trap a ball—what the hell is he good for?!"

First, he blew a scoring chance by refusing to pass to Wang Lie and hitting the side netting instead.

Now, he had ruined a magnificent counterattacking opportunity by failing to control an easy pass.

Back-to-back blunders, compounded by his premature announcement earlier in the week that he would leave the club at season's end, meant Sonny Dean currently differed very little from a public enemy in the eyes of many Tyne supporters.

Not a single soul chose to speak up for him at that moment, because he had undeniably squandered two golden opportunities for Tyne to draw level.

Perhaps when the final whistle blew, it would be precisely these squandered chances that caused Tyne to lose the match.

Tyne's fans remained unaware of Wang Lie's grand ambition; under normal circumstances, a home defeat to Skuggar would not have been anything worth whining about.

Yet with Wang Lie on the pitch—and after he had already scored such a breathtaking free-kick—many Tyne supporters simply could not stomach the prospect of losing to Skuggar yet again.

The proof lay in the fact that even someone like Dixey, who earlier believed Tyne stood no chance against Skuggar, was now roaring curses over Dean's consecutive squandered opportunities.

Tang Lin did not display the same outward exaggeration as Dixey, yet a deep sense of regret for Tyne welled up inside him.

Though unfamiliar with football, he had watched nearly sixty minutes of the game.

He likely still lacked a full grasp of the refereeing criteria and justifications, or why the Tyne fans in the stands erupted into cheers and applause whenever a certain Tyne player passed or controlled the ball.

Yet he understood the fundamental human emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and delight.

As Skuggar fans roared insults and mockery at Tyne and their supporters, feelings of resentment stirred within him.

After all, he was studying abroad in Newcastle, and virtually everyone around him consisted of Tyne fans. His landlord, Mr. Berg, had rediscovered hope and purpose in life precisely because of this football club.

Thus, for these Skuggar fans to insult Tyne and its supporters was tantamount to insulting Mr. Berg, as well as the belief and pillar that had restored his will to live.

Empathizing with them, how could Tang Lin remain indifferent to the Tyne football team squandering their chance to equalize?

He still didn't consider himself a Tyne fan, nor did he care about what standing Tyne might achieve this season.

Yet at the very least, for today's match, Tang Lin did not wish to see Tyne defeated by Skuggar.

Even if it was just to validate his utterance of "Are nobles and generals naturally endowed with more seed?", he desperately wanted Tyne to win.

Otherwise, after all this commotion, they would still end up losing to Skuggar; wouldn't that make his previous declaration look like a complete joke?

It wouldn't matter much if he became the joke, but he refused to let the phrase "Are nobles and generals naturally endowed with more seed?" become a punchline.

He refused to let the Chinese people who steadfastly believed in that sentiment be made into a joke.

Tang Lin shifted his gaze back to the pitch, picking out Wang Lie amidst the sea of diminutive moving figures.

Even though he never watched football and harbored no love for the sport, he had long since heard of this name.

Wang Lie.

The influence carried by that name far exceeded what an ordinary professional athlete could ever achieve.

Tang Lin remembered when he was in middle school, encountering this exact essay prompt on an exam:

"... As everyone knows, Wang Lie, as a world-renowned football player, broke a series of records and achieved enviable success. Yet at the age of eighteen or nineteen, he suffered two consecutive severe injuries. At the time, everyone believed that even if he could return to the pitch, he would never fulfill his talent or reach the heights expected of him. Some even urged him to retire. But Wang Lie said: 'Life is like a football match. My match has only just begun; how can anyone surrender the moment the game starts?' Write an essay elaborating on your understanding of Wang Lie's words. Requirements: Choose a suitable perspective, determine your theme, specify the genre, no plagiarism, no formulaic writing... minimum 800 words..."

Tang Lin neither watched football nor understood it, so he ultimately argued his points from the perspective of competition; the essay he produced did not earn a top score, but it wasn't a failing grade either—a respectable, mediocre result, neither good nor bad.

He simply came to deeply understand from that episode just how immense Wang Lie's influence truly was.

Many non-fans regarded him as their idol and role model.

Just as the exam prompt stated, to achieve such glorious success after enduring those two devastating injuries was genuinely inspiring.

Watching Wang Lie's figure on the pitch, Tang Lin silently repeated to himself:

Wang Lie, you know that saying too, don't you?

You believe in "Are nobles and generals naturally endowed with more seed?", don't you?

※※※

Author's Note: Tomorrow will feature a double update as usual!